On Thursday morning, scores of Oakland police officers in tandem with the Department of Public Works, showed up to clear a unique homeless encampment called “The Village” at 36th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, near the MacArthur BART Station. The camp had been a grassroots partnership between homeless residents, local neighbors, and activist groups like Feed the People and Asians for Black Lives.

Just a day after the city's annual homeless count, Oakland police stepped in and took apart a homeless encampment that had been built by local volunteers. Tiny houses had been constructed from plywood to offer shelter to about 16 people. Video production by Erasmo Martinez.

The Tenderloin is an unlikely place for a park, let alone a forest. But the Tenderloin National Forest - an urban alleyway turned peaceful art garden - makes space for redwood trees, fish ponds, hummingbirds, and grateful neighbors.

Ghazwan al-Sharif talks about memories of his Iraqi hometown, Tikrit, his work as a translator for the U.S. Army, the bombing of his house, his journey as a refugee through Jordan and finally to the United States.